It is well known to employ a multitude of transparent flexible film wrapping material, including thermoplastic polymeric films, for wrapping articles such as foodstuffs, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,429,717; 5,422,151; and 5,387,470. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,256 discloses a polyethylene film wrapping material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,535 discloses the use of a vinyl strap for the limited purpose of securing safety equipment to the external clothing of a hockey player. However, these types of thin flexible polymeric films do not possess the required levels of tensile strength that would allow for sealing and/or binding applications where great strength is required but where also significant flexibility is required. More particularly, there are a multitude of available traditional and specialty oriented tapes or securement products such as disposable adhesive-bearing tapes, usually of paper or elastic composition, such as Scotch Brand Masking Tape and Scotch Brand disposable clear adhesive tape made by the 3M corporation. Additionally, there are a large number of cloth, filament or fiber-based tape products available that utilize either adhesive fastening means and/or some form of mechanical fastening means.
The problems associated with the use of traditional adhesive-bearing paper tapes (cohesively acting fastening means) or tapes utilizing mechanical fastening or locking means are two fold: (1) economic considerations based upon the non-reusable nature of these products; and (2) adhesive-bearing tapes or tapes utilizing mechanical fastening or locking means are often manufactured from various types of paper, elasticized-paper or elasticized-cloth material, and as such these materials possess different inherent characteristics (tensile strengths) that directly affect their ability to withstand externally applied forces such as object weight, direct pressure or trauma caused by rough handling, moisture, heat, etc. Other products intended for use as sealing or securement means such as straps bearing VELCRO or straps bearing buckles or buttons all have very severe limitations such as difficulty in application and removal because of the great amount of physical effort that is required and the great tendency of VELCRO and tapes to become entangled with other objects that they come into contact with as well as entangled with themselves. Additionally, a tape may possess all the necessary properties for a particular application, but be deficient in that it does not possess the necessary tensile strength or is not capable of reuse or adjustment once it has been initially applied.
The instant invention simulates all essential properties of disposable adhesive-bearing tapes and/or tapes utilizing mechanical binding means in that it can be applied in a manner identical to that with which disposable tape is applied. Specifically, polyvinyl chloride is virtually inelastic. This property facilitates its mechanical functioning, and accounts for its similarity in "feel" to disposable adhesive-bearing tape. Furthermore, the electrostatic, intramolecular, self-adhesive property of polyvinyl chloride renders unnecessary the use of any adhesive or mechanical fastening device to achieve a strong, yet readily reversible, fastening or binding, which is achieved by merely overlapping portions (ends) of the invention. In addition, the self-clinging properties of the invention allow the invention to overcome the inherent problems associated with the use of adhesive-bearing tapes, cloth-type bandages and/or wrappings in many applications, including medical applications and procedures, by providing for quick application, removal and/or subsequent adjustment of the invention once it has been applied to the patient. The inability of traditional adjesive-bearing tapes, bandages, straps, belts etc. to be removed and/or adjusted without the need for a significant expenditure of effort with a corresponding level of trauma caused by adhesion of such products to the skin surface combined with the lack of reuse capability have represented long felt needs by endusers.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a multi-purpose tape structure that possesses strong self-adhesive/self-clinging properties without the need for any externally applied adhesives or mechanical fastening means.
It is another objective of the invention to provide a multipurpose tape structure that possesses sufficient inherent tensile strength to allow for the application of the invention under extreme advers conditions of weight, pressure, heat, moisture, etc. while being capable of quick removal and reapplication virtually an unlimited number of times.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide for a multipurpose tape structure that when utilized in association with the skin of a patient provides a securement means that has the ability to be quickly and easily applied, removed and reapplied an infinite number of times without the trauma and irritation associated with the use and removal of conventional tapes and bandages. These and other objects of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following disclosure and appended claims.